Banque de Tunisie – Ratings Lowered; LT FCR Outlook Remains Negative

Banque de Tunisie – Ratings Lowered; LT FCR Outlook Remains Negative

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has downgraded the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FCR) of Banque de Tunisie (BT) to ‘C+’ and ‘C’, respectively, from ‘B-’ and ‘B’. The Outlook for the LT FCR remains Negative. At the same time, CI Ratings has lowered BT’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) by one notch to ‘c’, from ‘b-’, and the Core Financial Strength (CFS) to ‘bb-’, from ‘bb’. BT’s Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of Moderate has been affirmed.

The change in BT’s FCRs and BSR follows a recent lowering in CI’s internal assessment of sovereign risk for Tunisia, reflecting the more challenging operating environment and weaker economy. The downward adjustment of our internal assessment of the sovereign’s creditworthiness is primarily driven by…